Chapter 627: The Guest in the Leaving Suishenju (Extra Chapter, Requesting Monthly Tickets)

"Within my soil, I am the master! Hohohoho!" Li Li Banfeng laughed aloud.

A shadow walked up beside him and said, "You've laughed enough—come lend a hand. These corpses are hard to move."

More than sixty three-headed men had been cleaned up by Li Li Banfeng; after moving the bodies, the gloves briefly tidied the battlefield.

The gloves were truly exhausted: "Master, teach me the technique 'Solitary Shadow'—I want a few clones too. Doing this alone is too tiring." "You want to learn 'Solitary Shadow'?" Li Li Banfeng asked seriously.

"Of course I do." The gloves thought it was just a joke, not worth such seriousness. "Then you must bow to me as your master!"

"Easy enough." The gloves didn't take it seriously—becoming Li Li Banfeng's disciple wasn't out of the question. "Then let's prepare. Bow now!" Li Li Banfeng grew more serious by the moment.

Master, stop joking—this isn't the time to become a disciple!

"Isn't this the right time?" Li Li Banfeng grew angry. "If your heart isn't sincere in learning, I won't teach you."

The gloves studied Li Li Banfeng closely and realized he wasn't joking—he was in an unusual mental state, similar to how he'd been in Gourd Village. The lingering effects of the mad technique seemed still active; Li Li Banfeng hadn't shaken off its influence.

"Master, didn't we finish the battle? These shadows should be recalled by now."

Why recall them? It's rare to have such a gathering—how lively it is! Li Li Banfeng sprinted wildly across the wasteland, followed by dozens of shadows. Along the way, the shadows laughed and chatted, the atmosphere like New Year's Eve.

"By the way, isn't today New Year's?" "Tomorrow's New Year's Eve—today doesn't count."

"How can it not count? On the twenty-seventh of the twelfth month, we worship the Seven Elders. We're all Li Qi—today counts as New Year's for us." "I really want to see the temple fair—in Qiu Sandao Ridge, we Li Qi are definitely the most dazzling!"

"You were glowing so brightly just now!"

"Was I?" The shadow looked closely at himself. "I must've absorbed heavenly light."

Li Li Banfeng turned back and said, "You're not going home until you've fully digested that heavenly light!"

As they raced toward the boundary, they saw the driver and Lu Lu Qianjiao surrounded by over two hundred three-headed men.

The driver gripped the carriage pole and used Treading Through Wan Chuan, trying to drive back the three-headed men—but the power of his technique was pitifully weak—in Li Li Banfeng's eyes, it was barely stronger than a giant firecracker.

Though Li Li Banfeng's mind was unwell, he knew not to mock the driver to his face—the driver had already shown great face by stepping in.

Li Li Banfeng charged in with his shadows, shouting at the driver: "Go first! Don't worry about me—I've got a way out. That..." But before he finished, the driver had already fled.

After Li Li Banfeng's shadows crashed into the crowd, they shattered the three-headed men's formation. The driver seized the chance and bolted without hesitation. Lu Lu Qianjiao glanced at Li Li Banfeng: "Brother, your..."

"Don't say it—just go!" Li Li Banfeng waved impatiently. Lu Lu Qianjiao had to keep watching the driver, fearing he'd abandon the carriage, so she sprinted after him. Li Li Banfeng stood alone, battling over two hundred three-headed men with his shadows. The squad leader immediately ordered: "First—"

He meant to order the first tactical formation, but before he could speak, three shadows lunged forward, each grabbing one head and slicing through all three necks. According to protocol, when the squad leader fell, the deputy took command.

The two remaining hundred-commanders exchanged glances but said nothing.

To speak meant death—no matter how disciplined they were, no one feared death less.

Without command, the two hundred three-headed men's combat effectiveness plummeted, and they clashed chaotically with Li Li Banfeng's shadows. In true chaos, no one could match Li Li Banfeng—the two hundred grew weaker by the second, casualties mounting. Just as they seemed ready to break free, a group rushed in from afar.

The hundred-commander shouted: "Reinforcements have arrived! Brothers, fight him to the death!" The reinforcements had truly come.

There were indeed more than three thousand Sinless Soldiers nearby—over eight thousand had been stalled by the peddler alone. Their original plan was to launch a full assault tonight; if they reached the mountain, all ten thousand three-headed men atop it would die.

But now even the peddler couldn't hold them—he'd merely circled the mountain, neither advancing nor retreating. The three-headed men had sensed the problem and sent troops down to pursue.

The gloves weren't worried—the battle favored them, and Li Li Banfeng had ample chances to escape. "Let them chase—we can shake off these three-headed men right now. Those behind? They'll drop dead trying to catch Master!"

Li Li Banfeng disagreed.

"Run? Run for what? If we run, we lose our momentum!"

"Master, what are you doing? Master, don't act like this—Master..."

Li Li Banfeng didn't flee. He left some shadows behind to keep fighting, then led the rest straight toward the three-headed army. "No, Master!"

Ahead lay thousands of soldiers!

The gloves felt despair. His magic treasures were useless—he didn't know what to do.

Seeing Li Li Banfeng charging straight at them, the three-headed army froze—they couldn't decipher the tactic.

It didn't matter if they didn't understand. The three-headed men had fixed responses. The squad leader ordered the third tactical formation—the key was armored units to block, and brawlers to encircle. This was the standard tactic against enemy charges.

Armored units were a rare type of dark-energy user. No Dao sect in Pulu Province matched them—they corresponded to body cultivators with specialized external armor: shrimp, crab, beetle, scorpion types.

Their dark abilities were simple: they coated their bodies in thick, rough armor and increased their weight, relying on heaviness and durability to resist impacts.

These dark-energy users played a crucial role in repelling enemy charges. At Three Forks, many three-headed men chose desperate last stands when survival seemed impossible—but against armored units, their full charges were halted, and once surrounded by brawlers, they faced efficient, merciless slaughter.

Faced with such a simple, effective tactic, Li Li Banfeng's response was to kill the squad leader.

He leapt up, soared over the armored units, reached the squad leader's side, then used Broken Path to cleave through the surrounding soldiers—and simultaneously split the squad leader's body. Li Li Banfeng realized the squad leader was a curious existence.

Among the Sinless Soldiers, the squad leader was the only one required to make judgments and think. Of course, killing him would trigger a deputy to take over; if the deputy fell, someone else would replace him.

Even so, this tactic still worked—just like earlier against the ambush. Kill them one by one, and you destroy their command system. But Li Li Banfeng's response this time was flawed—he wasn't thinking clearly enough due to his unstable mind.

No deputy took over because the squad leader's command hadn't failed. He was dead—yet no problem?

This was the Sinless Soldiers' fixed protocol for commander death: if the commander's tactical deployment still suited the current battlefield, the tactic continued. He had ordered the third formation to encircle Li Li Banfeng—and Li Li Banfeng was already encircled. The tactic was flawless.

Trapped, Li Li Banfeng had to break out. Around him, scholars and judges unleashed techniques like a tidal wave: "Decide Victory, Determine Life and Death, Not an Inch Back!" De Xiu and Wen Xiu techniques—virtue and literary cultivation arts—were used together, seamlessly.

Amid the sonic wave, Li Li Banfeng abandoned the idea of breaking out—he prepared to fight to the death.

He refused to use Expanding Soil and Opening Territory. He abandoned all techniques. No tactics filled his mind—only the raw desire to fight hand-to-hand, one final duel to the death.

All his shadows, along with every magic treasure beside him, lost reason in the sonic wave. They now possessed only fierce, unyielding will—to fight alongside Li Li Banfeng, to the last soldier.

This was the Sinless Soldiers' combat power.

Li Li Banfeng, stripped of reason, ignored his wounds and the enemy's numbers—he fought only to kill. If this continued, he'd soon die in the chaos.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The peddler, breaking out from the mountain, saw the crowd here and came over—encountering Li Li Banfeng, eyes blood-red. Hearing the rattle drum, the Sinless Soldiers' assault slowed slightly; Li Li Banfeng grew a little clearer.

The peddler grabbed a handful of pepper from his cart and tossed it into the air.

Thousands of three-headed men choked, tears and snot streaming, unable to speak. The peddler shoved Li Li Banfeng: "Leave this to me—go now!"

Li Li Banfeng nodded: "Alright."

Li Li Banfeng, now awake, could have used the Broken Path to carve a way out, but he didn't. Instead, he pushed the peddler's cart and left.

Because he wasn't fully awake.

The peddler stared blankly, then shouted after Li Li Banfeng: "What are you doing with my cart?" Li Li Banfeng gave no explanation.

He'd long coveted this cart.

This cart was so interesting—such a huge cabinet on top, filled with all kinds of things. He'd always wanted to push it, but feared the peddler would refuse. Today, he felt it was the perfect moment.

Was it appropriate to steal the peddler's cart during battle?

Perhaps not—but Li Li Banfeng didn't think about that now. He was happy!

He pushed the cart, diving into a crowd of shadows. The peddler, helpless, chased after him into the shadows.

When he caught up, the peddler reclaimed the cart, looked around, and turned to Li Li Banfeng: "Why did you bring me here?" A rectangular room held a bed, a shelf, and a tea table.

This was the carriage of the Little Train—the peddler had given it to Li Li Banfeng. The peddler knew it well.

"Since you're here, sit." Li Li Banfeng poured tea for the peddler with an old teapot, then kept hugging the cart. A group of shadows surrounded the peddler, gesturing politely for him to sit.

"I'm not in the mood to sit—we'll settle accounts later." The peddler pulled the cart toward the exit—but the door of the Leaving Suishenju wouldn't open. Leaving Suishenju spoke: "No need for formalities. You're not a first-time visitor."

The peddler frowned: "Little Train, what's going on now?"

Little Train chuckled: "No big deal—just catching up. It's been so long."

Outside Leaving Suishenju, the three-headed men were baffled—the peddler was gone, the madman was gone.

And a group of pitch-black madmen were gone too.

While they were bewildered, one of the pitch-black madmen suddenly leapt from the ground and used Broken Path.

A path opened through the encircling three-headed men. The pitch-black madman sprinted away along it.

With even a little caution, these three-headed men could never have let this madman escape—a concentrated barrage would've reduced him to pulp, assuming he even had flesh.

This madman was Li Li Banfeng's shadow.

Li Banfeng said one shadow wasn't allowed to return home—because this shadow had apparently absorbed heavenly light.

They joked and laughed normally, but on serious matters, Li Banfeng never wavered. If Li Banfeng said not to go home, this shadow wouldn't go home.

This shadow couldn't fly or use Riding the Wind and Clouds—but in speed, even these three-headed men couldn't catch him. He clutched something vital in his hand and sprinted full speed toward the boundary.

Zhao Xiao and Xiang Xiang Hongying still waited by the boundary. They faintly saw someone approaching from the other side. Zhao Xiao adjusted slightly and fired—a shadow stretched across the boundary.

Lu Lu Qianjiao followed the driver onto the Dark Bridge, moving swiftly. She felt someone outside the bridge. "Che Che Wushang, don't you sense someone nearby?"

"So what if there is?" The driver didn't care. "This bridge is about to collapse—hurry up!"

According to the peddler's plan, the Hai Chi Old Cart, carrying over ten thousand people, weighed as much as a hundred. Li Li Banfeng said the Dark Bridge could bear a hundred—perfect for the peddler. But in truth, the bridge's safe load was eighty. A hundred was already its limit.

The driver was terrified. His instinct for avoiding danger told him the bridge would collapse.

Zhao Xiao was also worried. She couldn't be sure the bridge would hold. From the instrument readings, the bridge's condition was poor—many components had failed.

Meow~

The Dark Bridge cannon emitted a low moan—the bridge couldn't hold.

The shadow on the boundary trembled; the Dark Bridge inside the wormhole shook violently.

Lu Lu Qianjiao grew anxious, but the driver remained calm: "Use all your strength—run! Once you're out, you're safe!"

After all, he was the number-one driver of Pulu Province. Che Che Wushang pulled the Hai Chi Old Cart and burst out just before the bridge collapsed. He dropped the pole and sat on the ground, legs trembling uncontrollably.

Lu Lu Qianjiao, having fought through the entire battle, was exhausted too. She sat by the roadside, gasping for breath.

Zhao Xiao still maintained the bridge, turning back to ask: "Where's my husband?" The driver said nothing.

Lu Lu Qianjiao whispered: "He hasn't come out yet..."

Xiang Xiang Hongying raised her spear, pointing at Lu Lu Qianjiao: "Wenchu, you got out—why didn't Qi Lang?" Lu Lu Qianjiao had no answer.

She was a famed general—yet now she'd escaped the battlefield, leaving behind a young man. Young brother, where are you now?

Li Li Banfeng hugged the cart, sipping tea with the peddler inside Leaving Suishenju. A woman in her twenties, dressed in a green gauze dress, her long hair tied up, sat beside the tea table, smiling coldly at the peddler.

Her face was slightly elongated, with willow-leaf brows and apricot-pit eyes. Her gaze flickered with her tone, full of spirit. Her nose was high, her lips crimson and full. She wasn't as beautiful as Zhao Xiao, but roughly matched Xiang Xiang Hongying's level. Among ordinary people, she'd be a once-in-ten-thousand beauty.

"Hehe!" The beauty smiled at the peddler. The peddler took a sip of tea—and nearly spat it out.

After calming down, the peddler said to the girl, "We need to be clear—your father didn't swear brotherhood with you, so this isn't my fault!" The girl nodded and said, "This isn't your fault."

"And it's not my fault that Old Train didn't marry your sister!"

The Ninth Girl thought for a moment: "This has something to do with you!"

The peddler denied it: "Don't talk nonsense! If Old Train refused, what's that got to do with me?"

The Ninth Girl sighed: "Fine, let's just say it's not your fault."

The peddler added, "Your sister breaking away to found the Crazy Cultivators? That's not my fault either. She had sufficient cultivation, her Dao path was solid—I just gave her the powder."

The girl nodded: "Alright, this isn't your fault either."

The peddler frowned: "Then what do you want?"

The Ninth Girl scowled and said coldly: "I just want to ask you one thing—is the destruction of Fool's City your fault?"

The peddler fell silent for a moment, then looked up at Li Li Banfeng: "Brother, what's this about? Did you specially come to hold me accountable?"

"I just invited you for tea. I didn't expect Hua Jiuer to show up." Li Li Banfeng opened a drawer in the cart, stepped on a switch, and the drawer closed again. This cart was so fun—he could never get tired of playing with it.

The peddler nodded: "So she's your ninth wife!"

The Ninth Girl yelled at Li Li Banfeng: "I told you not to call me Hua Jiuer—it sounds like you're talking about your little wife, and the smallest one at that!" The peddler asked, "If not the smallest, which one are you?"

"I'm his…" The Ninth Girl wanted to say "senior sister," but decided it was better not to tell the peddler about the Crazy Cultivators. "I'm his ninth."

The Ninth Girl gritted her teeth and accepted it.

Li Li Banfeng crawled into the cargo container: "Brother, I don't know what past grudges you two had. Before you came, I'd never even seen Hua Jiuer—this is the first time she revealed her true form."

The peddler snorted: "So what if she revealed her true form? Are you challenging me to a fight?"

The Ninth Girl growled: "If I could beat you, I'd have already killed you!"

The peddler laughed: "If you're too scared to fight, don't talk. Come back when you've grown stronger."

The Body Dwelling asked: "Old Train is trapped in Huineizhou—is that your fault?"

The peddler said nothing.

The Eighth Wife, the Calculation Cultivator, shouted: "I calculate problems for them every day, and when they can't solve them, they beat me—is that your fault?" The peddler said nothing.

The Seventh Husband shouted: "I've been here so long I almost forgot my Dao path—is that your fault?" The peddler lowered his head.

The Fifth Wife shouted: "I've forgotten my Dao path. I've forgotten everything. I don't even remember if I've ever seen you—is that your fault?"

The peddler slammed his fist on the table: "You don't even remember if you've seen me, and you're blaming me for this!"

Li Li Banfeng hugged the cart and shouted: "Enough! I invited my brother here for tea, then to leave San Tou Cha—not to listen to your petty grievances or play with my brother's cart!"

The peddler nodded: "That sounds better. Get off my cart first."

Li Li Banfeng stepped down from the cart and sat across from the peddler.

The peddler asked: "You fought the Innocent Army to the death—was it to rescue me?" How should he answer?

Tell the truth?

The truth was: I was insane then—I just wanted to fight the Innocent Army to the death. I didn't even know you were coming. Later, I was caught in their technique; if you hadn't shown up, I couldn't have escaped.

That wouldn't sound right…

After a moment's thought, Li Li Banfeng changed his answer: "Brother, I didn't know when you'd come, but as long as you hadn't arrived, I'd fight to the death—I'd never leave!"

In a way, this was also true.

The peddler was deeply moved. He lifted his teacup and drained it in one gulp: "Good! This brother wasn't wasted." He drank two more cups. The Body Dwelling reminded him: "We're almost there."

Li Li Banfeng said: "There's another friend here. Do you want to meet them?" The peddler asked: "An old friend?"

"An old friend—a very close one. I'll go bring Hua Hua Jiuer over." The peddler glanced at the Ninth Girl: "You're Hua Jiuer—who's Hua Hua Jiuer?"

The Ninth Girl smiled: "Did Honglian. Aren't you two old acquaintances?"

The peddler stared at Li Li Banfeng in shock: "Did Honglian is with you?"

Li Li Banfeng frowned: "Why are you pretending like you don't know?"

The peddler waved his hand: "Never tell anyone about this. I have urgent business—I won't see Did Honglian. I'm leaving now."

As Xiang Hongying was about to fight Lu Lu Qianjiao, Zhao Xiao didn't even glance over.

She stood beside the boundary, gazing across, desperate for Li Li Banfeng's return. Xiang Hongying pressed Lu Lu Qianjiao: "Where is my Seventh?"

Lu Lu Qianjiao couldn't answer. Zhao Xiao prepared to fire another shot: "Xiang Hongying, once I cross over, you help me control the Shadow Bridge Cannon. My own husband—I'll find him myself!" Xiang Hongying walked to the boundary and said: "Stop joking. I don't know how to operate the Shadow Bridge Cannon. Fire now—send me over. I'll bring Seventh back!"

Just then, a figure appeared on the other side of the boundary.

Xiang Hongying cried out: "Zhao Xiaowan, look! Isn't that Seventh?"

Zhao Xiao studied him for a long time: "His build matches Seventh's, but why is he so dark?"

PS: First-day November moon tickets—please help! Yumian Shala's moon tickets are earned one by one from readers. Yumian Shala isn't afraid of them. With the deep affection of all readers, Yumian Shala will fight them again!

Thank you to the Patron Mia Miao Miao! On the first day of November, thank you for your tremendous support of Li Banfeng and Yumian Shala.